BOP Interview: Michelle Rodriguez
By Ryan Mazie
March 8, 2011
BoxOfficeProphets.com
What was unique to you about Battle: Los Angeles compared to the other alien invasion movies out there?
MR: The biggest thing for me is the perspective. It is like you are being one of the characters by being an audience member the way the cinematography is shot. The way the whole film is shot is very in your face. Very first man-shooter, and I find that unique for a sci-fi flick. The only other time when I saw anything similar to such a thing would be District 9, but it wasn’t as in your face and constantly moving...I think that is really cool, it adds to the suspense and to the whole vibe of making it real.
How difficult was it to make this movie compared to other films you acted in?
MR: The training was pretty agonizing. I hate running and the training everyday was two miles for three weeks. We’d get up five in the morning and do sit-ups, push-ups, all that stuff I hate doing (laughs). The most fun part was training with the guns, which I love. But the training was pretty darn hardcore. Not as hardcore as like Girlfight where I am literally gaining 25 pounds of muscle, but it was pretty gnarly.
In a lot of your films, you play these really tough female characters. So are the characters written as being that powerful or do you bring that element yourself to the character?
MR: I think it’s really just men thinking that in order to have a strong woman she has to have masculine qualities and they write her that way. It’s not really my fault. What is my fault is that I’ve pigeonholed myself to these types of roles, because I don’t find anything else attractive (laughs). The kind of falling in love chick, or the one who chases after a boy; it is those stories that I find redundant. They are sometimes incredibly interesting to watch, like a drama by a well-feted actress, but for the most part, I don’t find it appealing to embody those characters so I stick to what I find fun. I like girls to do stuff, I don’t want them sitting around whining about things all the time. I find it incredibly annoying.
You are also well known for your part on Lost. So what are the differences between embodying characters on film versus television?
MR: To me there is really no big difference other than the fact that you get more airtime with your character. You have more time on television than you do on film to create arcs and evolution for your character, which is pretty cool with television. With film it is more rushed and everything is set for you. You take 50% what the script is and then 50% what you bring to it, so you know everything that’s going to happen. With television, you don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow, with a film you have it beginning to end. You can analyze it a thousand times if you want to and create whatever arcs you want, but it is set for you. Not knowing what is going to happen to you next week on television is pretty awesome. There’s more time to play in television than in film.
Have you learned anything about the military or felt differently about it during the whole training experience?
MR: No, I’ve had a really great relationship with the military and the military is the military. I love the boys, they are great; the girls, they are awesome. One thing that really did stick out to me that wasn’t as potent in my previous meetings with the military was the lack of camaraderie, between different subsidiary groups like Army versus Air Force versus Marines versus National Guard versus Intel, Spec Ops. It is friendly, sometimes, the way they crack on each other, but they really have some serious opinions about each other, and they aren’t necessarily nice ones speaking about the other. I’ve always found that kind of weird. It was more prominent now than I’ve noticed before.
Can you talk about Jonathan Liebesman and how he compares to the other directors you’ve worked with?
MR: He’s freaking awesome! Love that guy. He’s down to earth, he attacks every situation from a thousand angles, and he doesn’t really close any doors. While he’s working, everything is open for change, and I admire that. He has a massive attention to detail and is constantly analyzing everything and I love that, because that means he is animated, he is constantly interacting, always moving puzzle pieces. I like directors like that. You don’t feel scared to play. He’s really good at communicating with actors I think. He’s just a great guy.
I’ve read that you shot against a billboard green screen background. What is it like working with green screens?
MR: You know what? I have absolutely no true green screen experience, even working on Avatar. All of my stunts were on sets surrounded by massive blocks of dirt and twisted cars, and army tanks destroyed, melted metal… They really, really did a number on these sets. The billboard green screen, you don’t really interact with it. They just use it so they can fill it in and make it look like LA, because we were shooting in Louisiana.
You are currently writing a screenplay. Can you say anything about it?
MR: Yeah, basically I’m 50 pages in [right now]. It kind of has a Pulp Fiction-esque vibe to it, not as exaggerated as Tarantino or Rodriguez, but it is sure in the realm of surrealism. You wonder what is real and what’s not. It’s has more of a New York-set sex, drugs, rock and roll kind of vibe to it with kick ass chicks in the lead.
What is the appeal of the sci-fi genre to you?
MR: (laughs) It is my world baby, I love it. I’m a geek at heart. The mythology, H.G. Wells, it’s predicting the future, using your imagination, exaggerating reality, pushing borders, a quest for balance, it’s like we are trying to figure out what this whole thing is. It’s a unique little planet in the middle of fucking nowhere. It’s gnarly and I just love it when people explore possibilities. A lot of people think sci-fi isn’t tangible, but I find it so tangible. I feel like it is in many ways predicting the future. It is awesome. That’s my world; I’d dive in it, I’d make love to it, it’s awesome.
What is your favorite science fiction movie?
MR: Dude, you can’t do that to me. Are you kidding me right now? Well, here is the thing. I can say something like Avatar, but that’s the commercial me speaking. I just love the fact that love was translated into a universal language. The snobby me would be like, “That’s so commercial, give me a break! Why don’t you say something cool like Blade Runner?” I would say Blade Runner if that’s the case. That was awesome. Not too many people like that movie, but I thought it was so great. I don’t know what it is about that movie, but it just really captivated me in such an original way. I like so many different things about so many sci-fi movies, I can’t really choose. But I’d definitely say Blade Runner if I had to pick one.
Being such a huge sci-fi fan, what would be your ideal action scene?
MR: Ohhh, you can’t geek me out with a question like that. You know what? That’s a good one. I’d love to be flying around in a giant insect with my hands stuffed in it’s thorax in a fighting sequence, yeah, on planet Earth maybe a hundred years ahead, trying to infiltrate the aristocrat lifestyle in Mars. Maybe some war issues between the government and free-spirited man. I know this is all elusive, but I like the idea of monks and scientists getting together too. I find that really intriguing. I’d love for that unity to occur, because there would be so much awesome technology that would come from that, it would be sick.
Sounds like an awesome movie.
MR: (laughs) Oh man, it will.
If you had to convince someone to watch Battle: Los Angeles on opening day, what would you say?
MR: I’d be like, “You need to watch it; it’s the best movie on the planet and if you don’t see it you are stupid.” (laughs). It depends on who I’m talking to of course, but the biggest thing I think that appeals to me is the first man-shooter aspect. I’ve never really watched an alien film with so much action that I felt a part of it. Usually you are outside looking in, the way that this film was shot makes it feel like you are in it. Just for the experience it should be something you go check out.